NEW YORK – Greg Gumbel, a longtime CBS Sports anchor, has died of cancer, according to a statement from his family released by CBS on Friday. He was 78.

“He leaves a legacy of love, inspiration and dedication for over 50 extraordinary years in the sports broadcasting industry; and his iconic voice will never be forgotten,” his wife Marcy Gumbel and daughter Michelle Gumbel said in a statement.

In March, Gumbel missed his first NCAA Tournament since 1997 for health reasons, he said at the time. Gumbel has been the studio anchor for CBS since returning to the network from NBC in 1998. Gumbel signed an extension with CBS last year that allowed him to continue hosting college basketball while stepping away from his NFL announcing duties.

In 2001, he announced Super Bowl XXXV for CBS, becoming the first black announcer in the United States to call play-by-play of a major sports championship.

David Berson, president and CEO of CBS Sports, described Greg Gumbel as a person who has broken barriers and set the standard for others during his years as the voice of fans in sports, including the NFL and March Madness.

“Greg was an outstanding broadcaster and gifted storyteller and led one of the most remarkable and groundbreaking sportswriting careers of all time,” Berson said.

Gumbel had two stints at CBS, leaving the network for NBC when it lost football in 1994 and returning when he won the contract back in 1998.

He anchored CBS’ coverage of the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics and anchored Major League Baseball games during the national pastime’s four-year broadcast.

But it was football and basketball where he was best known and had the greatest influence. Gumbel hosted CBS’s NFL studio show “The NFL Today” from 1990 to 1993 and again in 2004.

He was also the network’s lead play-by-play announcer for NFL games from 1998 to 2003, including Super Bowl XXXV and XXXVIII. He returned to the NFL booth in 2005 and left that role after the 2022 season.